2010 W&L Men's Lacrosse Season Preview

Feb 05, 2010

One of the hardest things in sports is to
repeat. The Washington and Lee lacrosse program
went five years without an ODAC title before last season’s
crescendo to the top of the conference. Despite
graduating an outstanding senior class that helped bring the
program back to prominence, Head Coach Gene McCabe believes that
the Generals are ready to face the challenge of defending their
title.

“The success of the 2009 season provided
us with a roadmap for how to reach our goals,” said
McCabe. “At the same time, getting a taste
of that success has made us even more hungry and motivated to do it
again. It is critical, however, that we realize
that it will be even harder to reach our goals this year because
we’ve had that success. While we are just
as talented, we are younger and we are less experienced which means
we have to work that much more as a team to get where we want to
be.”

The development of the younger players will be
paramount, but one position where McCabe can find experience and
stability is on attack, where two starters return, including senior
All-American Will Keigler.

“We have balanced scoring and experience
at the attack position,” noted McCabe.
“There is plenty of depth and competition heading into the
preseason. We just need to determine who will
fill the third attackman position.”

Keigler has played in 49 games over his first
three seasons and enters his final campaign tied for 16th in
program history with 149 career points. A First
Team All-ODAC and Honorable Mention All-America selection in 2009,
Keigler led the team in scoring with 78 points on 42 goals and 36
assists. His 78 points were the fifth-highest
season total in program history, while his 36 assists ranked sixth
all-time.

“Will is the quarterback of our offense
and the smartest player I have ever coached,” said
McCabe. “We will rely on his leadership
and experience this season.”

Joining Keigler as a returning starter is
junior Spence Daw. Daw started all 20 games at
attack a year ago, totaling 42 points on 22 goals and 20
assists. He also played some of his best
lacrosse late in the season, with a combined two goals and three
assists over the Generals’ two NCAA Tournament contests.

“Spence is emerging as a dominant
attackman in our league,” McCabe noted.
“He’s like a younger version of Keigler – he
plays to the whistle and does a fine job of distributing and
finishing.”

McCabe expects a host of players to compete
for the starting nod at the third attack
position. Junior Drew Mancini, sophomores Scott
Meehan and Sam Mott and first-years Will Garrett and Mac Means
appear to be the early leaders.

Mancini played in 17 games last season and
recorded five goals and six assists. Meehan saw
action in 11 games and notched 14 points (3 G, 11 A), while Mott
played in just eight games (2 G), but is coming off a terrific fall
season. Garrett was a two-time All-American at
the Highland School in Northern Virginia and Means was an
All-America player at Sewickley Academy near Pittsburgh, Pa.

The attack unit may have the most returning
experience, but McCabe believes his midfield is as deep as it has
ever been. The midfield graduated three
all-conference players from last season, including the conference
player of the year (Harry St. John), but balance and depth will
help to offset the loss of talent and
experience.

Among the top returnees are seniors Logan
Bartlett, Kevin Feeney, Chris Washington and Max Mancuso, juniors
Drew Koeneman, Mark Wachtmeister and Justin
Donati. Together with first-year Cooper Brown,
McCabe feels he’ll have three balanced midfield lines for the
first time in his tenure.

“From top to bottom this group is as
deep and talented as it has ever been,” he
said. “The key is how we recovered from
the injuries to Bartlett and Wachtmeister last
season. A lot of these guys are unproven and it
is their turn to step up and assume their roles.”

Bartlett missed all of the 2009 season with a
knee injury. He saw action in 25 games over his
first two years and registered eight goals and five assists.

“Logan has worked very hard to get
back,” McCabe said. “He has good
experience and we will look to him to provide consistent scoring
out of the midfield.”

Wachtmeister played in 16 games last season
before suffering a knee injury against Guilford in the ODAC
Tournament. A smooth player with a quick first
step, he totaled 22 points on 18 goals and four assists.

“Mark has recovered from his injury and
is ready to go,” noted McCabe. “He
is a lethal scorer on the run and he is looking to diversify his
game this year.”

McCabe describes Koeneman as a “go-to
guy and bona-fide scorer”. He played in
all 20 games during his sophomore season and finished sixth on the
team in scoring with 36 points on 24 goals and 12 assists.

Feeney will become the primary faceoff
specialist, but his game involves so much more.
McCabe describes him as the “workhorse and enforcer on our
team” and adds that he “will be expected to do it
all.” Feeney played in all 20 games a year
ago, totaling 16 points (14 G, 2 A) and winning 75 percent
(105-140) of his faceoffs.

Washington received the team’s most
improved player award last season after playing in all 20 games and
posting 12 goals and five assists. Mancuso
played in 13 games as an attackman, scoring six
goals. He will provide W&L with a solid
left-handed option from the midfield. Donati
played in 19 games during the 2009 campaign and tallied seven
points on two goals and five assists. A athlete
with tremendous quickness, Brown will look to make an immediate
impact after scoring a pair of goals in the Lee-Jackson game
against VMI this fall. The Baltimore native and
Gilman alum is a player that McCabe believes can compete for ODAC
Rookie of the Year laurels.

The Generals also feature good experience and
depth in the defensive midfield and McCabe believes W&L can
gain additional scoring punch from the group as well.

“This is the most scoring potential that
we’ve had at this position in a long time,” he
noted. “Their strength lies in their
collective athleticism and speed.”

Junior Gerard Savarese returns at short stick
d-middie, while sophomores Rob Look and Logan Allen will also
figure in the mix. Savarese played in 18 games
last season, causing eight turnovers and collecting 17 ground
balls. He also notched a pair of
tallies. Allen is a transfer from Chapman, where
he appeared in 16 games for the Panthers’ club
team. Look rejoins the team after earning
All-ODAC honors for the Generals’ football team during the
fall. He played in 10 games for the lacrosse
team last spring, winning 18-of-31 faceoffs and scoring one goal.

At long-stick midfielder, W&L will also
feature depth and experience. Junior Tad Baker
returns after garnering Honorable Mention All-ODAC honors last
season, while senior Garrott McClintock, junior Thomas Jenkins and
sophomore Alex Sturges will also see plenty of game action.

Baker played in 20 games with 19 starts and
finished with 40 ground balls and 10 caused
turnovers. He also assisted on a pair of goals
and McCabe describes him as “emerging as one of the best in
our conference”. McClintock saw action in
19 contests and finished the season with 18 ground balls and 12
caused turnovers to go along with one assist.
Jenkins saw action in eight games and tallied nine ground balls and
six caused turnovers, while Sturges played in 13 games and came on
late in the season, playing a key role in the Generals’
post-season run. He finished with 10 ground
balls, seven caused turnovers and one assist.

At close defense, the Generals return talent
and experience in senior Tyler Smith and junior Austin
Wernecke. How well they meld with the third
starting defenseman will determine W&L’s defensive
fortunes.

“We have a lot of experience with Smith
and Wernecke, but it is kind of synonymous with our attack in that
there are two established guys,” said
McCabe. “That being said, we have a
talented group capable of developing into one of the best defenses
in the country – they just have a lot to prove and gelling as
a unit is the key.”

Smith earned Second Team All-ODAC honors last
season after having a remarkable campaign. He
started all 20 games and led the team with 47 caused
turnovers. He also snared 48 ground balls.

“Tyler is an All-America caliber
player,” said McCabe. “He is one of
the most intense physical players I have ever coaches.”

Wernecke has been a fixture at close defense
after starting both of his first two seasons with the Blue &
White. He played in 15 games with 12 starts last
season before suffering an injury late in the
year. He caused 13 turnovers and collected 15
ground balls.

“Austin is a savvy and smart position
defender,” noted McCabe.

The injury to Wernecke during the
Generals’ late season run allowed Jack Hurley to receive
significant playing time and he delivered in the
clutch. Now a sophomore, McCabe expects Hurley
to contend for the third starting position and he describes him as
a player with “unlimited talent.”

Junior J.D. Englehart, sophomores Jason Harden
and Bryan Stuke and first-years Joe LaSala and Andrew Fusselbaugh
will look to also compete for the third starting spot.

Englehart played in nine games last season and
has worked hard to recovered from off-season shoulder surgery.
Harden also played in nine games last spring, while Stuke saw time
in eight contests. LaSala is a big (6-3, 220)
and smart athlete from Wilton High School in Connecticut and
Fusselbaugh is described as a good athlete with size (6-3,
205). He played his high school ball at Friends
Central in Suburban Philadelphia.

The biggest question mark will be in goal
where there is an open competition that has yet to be
settled. Senior Matt Mason, juniors Ned Lundvall
and Jason Lumpkin and sophomore transfer Weston Beard will all
battle for the lion’s share of the time between the
pipes. Mason, Lundvall and Lumpkin have all seen
action in mop-up duty and Beard is a transfer from St.
Joseph’s, where he played in one game during his rookie
season.

“The competition is completely
wide-open,” said McCabe. “However,
we are confident that all of these guys have the potential to be a
starter.”

The road to repeating begins with back-to-back
games against Birmingham Southern and Sewanee on Feb. 23 and
24. McCabe believes that his schedule will allow
the team to grow into themselves as the season progresses.

“Our schedule is as demanding as it has
ever been and it is set up to help harden us and help us peak at
the right times,” he said. “We have
an extremely talented, but largely unproven team right
now. They are hard-working, motivated and
focused, and the key will be how fast our guys mature and settle
into new roles and positions.”